Dungeon of Jade.
Outside a cave.
"My sword light, cut through all that is impure!"
"Shadow Swift Blade!"
Purple sword lights flashed, and the ground was littered with Treasure Hoarders moaning in pain.
Following closely behind, a group of Qianyan Army soldiers moved in and restrained them.
"You wait here. I'll go in alone," Keqing said.
"Lady Keqing, please allow us to accompany you inside," the Qianyan Army commander behind her said.
"No, what if there are traps? You won't be able to handle them," Keqing frowned.
"Precisely because of that, we won't let you take risks alone. If you get hurt, it would be our dereliction of duty," the Qianyan Army leader said seriously.
"Alright then, follow behind me, and be careful," Keqing finally agreed after seeing their determined expressions. She knew that even if she refused them, they would still follow.
"Yes!"
The group entered the cave, but they didn't encounter any traps.
Suddenly, several Treasure Hoarders appeared in front and behind them, flanking the group.
"Be careful! Watch out!"
The Qianyan Army leader shouted.
Keqing immediately spotted a middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader of the Treasure Hoarders.
"Oh? So it's the Yuheng Star of the Liyue Qixing, Keqing. A pleasure to meet you," the man sneered.
"Since you recognize me, release those merchants at once. Do you know you've committed a crime?" Keqing demanded.
"Merchants? Oh yes, they're inside the cave. Release them? I'm afraid that's not possible. One hundred million Mora. Have Ningguang deliver it personally, and they'll be returned in two days."
The man spoke calmly, without a trace of panic.
Keqing's eyes turned cold. "It seems you'd rather drink the punishment than the welcoming wine." She pointed her sword at him, the blade crackling with purple lightning.
"Hmph, men, give them a warm welcome." The Treasure Hoarder leader snorted and gave the order, then headed towards the cave entrance himself.
"Trying to run?" Keqing's expression changed. With a flash, she unleashed her Elemental Burst. Several Treasure Hoarders in front of her fell instantly, unable to withstand even a single round.
Keqing didn't stop, pursuing directly inside. The Qianyan Army commander behind her saw this and gritted his teeth, immediately taking down a Treasure Hoarder with his spear. He then said to the other Qianyan Army soldiers, "Brothers, I'll leave this to you. I'm going to help Keqing."
"Don't worry, Head," the others replied in unison.
The Qianyan Army leader nodded and then followed Keqing's pace.
Keqing chased into the cave and saw the Treasure Hoarder leader from before. He had a merchant in his left hand and a knife pressed against the merchant's neck.
It turned out that seeing the situation was unfavorable, he had already run in and planned to use the hostage to threaten Keqing and the others.
"Don't move! Drop your weapons, or his head will be moving!"
The Treasure Hoarder leader said viciously.
"How dare you! You weren't supposed to die, are you really trying to get yourself killed?" Keqing's eyes blazed with fury.
"Hmph, cut the crap… AHH——!" The man's words were cut short by a scream.
It turned out that the merchant he had grabbed had suddenly stomped hard on his toes, causing him to involuntarily loosen his grip with his left hand and cry out in pain.
"Good opportunity!" Keqing's expression changed. She flew forward, kicking the knife out of his hand and even kicking him to the ground.
The man tried to get up, but suddenly, Keqing's sword point was pressed against his throat.
"Be careful, Lady Keqing!"
Hearing this cry of alarm, Keqing's heart tightened. She immediately turned to look. Her gaze was drawn to a figure, which was rushing toward her with astonishing speed.
Before Keqing could react, she felt a flash of cold light before her eyes, followed by a warm liquid splashing onto her face.
She instinctively blinked, and when she saw the scene before her, her eyes widened – a flash of bright red blood had just splashed past her.
Keqing's breathing suddenly quickened as she realized what had just happened: someone had saved her life. And the person who had thrown themselves in front of her to block the attack was now lying on the ground…
It turned out that the merchant from before was fake, even pretending to be bound as a hostage, and he had suddenly launched a sneak attack.
"Looking for death!" Keqing's killing intent flared instantly. If it hadn't been for Ningguang's words flashing through her mind at the critical moment, the kick would have been a thrust of her sword.
"Bang!"
Even so, the fake merchant, who had launched the sneak attack, was kicked back several meters by the furious kick, falling directly into a coma and was then controlled by the Qianyan Army who had rushed over.
Keqing quickly walked over to the Qianyan Army commander and helped him up.
"Commander Guo Fei, are you alright? Are you hurt?" Keqing only then realized that she had been momentarily careless, and she was filled with regret. This scene shouldn't have happened.
"Cough, cough..." The Qianyan Army commander, Guo Fei, coughed up a mouthful of blood, then surprisingly chuckled. "Didn't hit the heart. I should be able to make it back alive. But for Lady Keqing to remember my name... this sword block was worth it."
Keqing breathed a sigh of relief, but found his attitude somewhat amusing.
"Heh, if someone hadn't blocked that sword for you, there'd only be six stars after today," the Treasure Hoarders' leader, who had been knocked down and was now restrained, sneered.
Keqing didn't respond, instead calling over two Qianyan Army soldiers to bandage Guo Fei's wound. Then, she walked towards the fake merchant.
"What are you doing? You going to kill me?" The man stared at Keqing's actions, but didn't seem panicked.
"Kill you? That's too easy. You're too noisy. Quiet down," Keqing said expressionlessly, raising her sword.
"Thwack!" Keqing used the flat of her blade to knock him unconscious. The Qianyan Army soldiers nearby felt a surge of satisfaction; after all, this guy had long since infuriated them all.
On the way back, Keqing couldn't help but recall Yunyan's divination.
"She does have some skill."
Back in Liyue Harbor, Keqing instructed the Qianyan Army to take the severely injured Guo Fei back first. She then went alone to the Butian Pavilion.
Yunyan had just brewed a fresh pot of tea and saw Keqing walk in.
"Keqing-daren, how did it go?" Yunyan asked with a smile.
"Hmph, you do have some skill. But if you try to swindle people with your fortune-telling, you'll be in trouble. Also, remember to apply for your business license."
Although Keqing's words were sharp, she couldn't help but feel a bit of approval in her heart.
"Of course. Yueyue, you'll go with Miss Keqing to handle the formalities later, and get some practice in," Yunyan nodded, then said to Xueyue.
"Yes, Master." Xueyue didn't look too happy, but since her Master had spoken, she could only nod obediently.
Then, the crowd of onlookers outside were surprised to see Keqing come out just like that.
Thus, the rumor, "Miss Keqing actually gave in, the Butian Pavilion is truly all-knowing!" began to spread...
Damn, it's like I even gave him free publicity. Keqing thought to herself, grinding her teeth in anger, then quickened her pace, with Xueyue hurrying to catch up.
Unbeknownst to them, this was also part of Yunyan's calculations.
On the road, Keqing subtly probed, and after learning from Xueyue that Yunyan was an Immortal, she was enlightened, figuring that Yunyan would dare to boast about being all-knowing, surely because he was an Immortal.
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